LINGAYEN GULF

large inlet of the South China Sea that indents the western coast of central Luzon, Philippines, for 36 mi (56 km). It is 26 mi wide at its entrance between Santiago Island (west) and San Fernando Point (east). Santiago, Cabarruyan, and Hundred Islands (site of Manleluang Spring National Park) lie within the gulf. Dagupan, a chartered city on its southern shore, is the principal commercial centre, and the port of Lingayen, the provincial capital, lies at the Agno River Delta. During World War II Japan (December 1941) and the United States (January 1945) landed forces on the shores of the gulf.